The Child Welfare Trauma Training course assists those in the field of child welfare who wish to learn more about child welfare and trauma. The backbone of the course is the newly released second edition of the Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit* which teaches basic knowledge, skills, and values about working with children who have experienced traumatic stress and who are in the child welfare system. The toolkit guides practitioners and others in supporting children's safety, permanency, and well-being through case analysis and corresponding interventions tailored to them and to their biological and resource families. This comprehensive training curriculum is twice the size of the first edition and includes a Trainer's Guide, Appendices, Slidekit, Participant Manual, Supplemental Handouts, recommended reading and resources, Comprehensive Guide, and an accompanying CD-Rom.

* This link leads to the Learning Center page, where you can either enter as a Guest or quickly create a free account for use with this or other courses.

The Revised Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit: What's New in Version Two?
July 16, 2013 (9:00 a.m. PDT)Presenter: Alison Hendricks, LCSW, National Trainer for Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This webinar will highlight the updated content in the Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit 2nd Edition and provide information about other resources for those considering using this exciting new curriculum at their centers.

Rcent Publications by Network Members, Affiliates, and Colleagues:

Stephanie Schneider, Steven Grilli, and Jennifer R. Schneider, from the Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, are the authors of Evidence-Based Treatments for Traumatized Children and Adolescents in Current Psychiatry Reports (Volume 14, Number 1). The article reviews recent advances in empirically supported psychotherapeutic treatments for children and adolescents experiencing trauma, providing a brief summary of available interventions, as well as a context for their use. Authors highlight the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's recent practice guidelines for trauma treatment and discuss their implications for clinicians, including the benefits of involving caregivers in treatment and the rationale for using practices that are specifically trauma-focused as first-line interventions. In addition, authors discuss the status of research on the real-world implementation of these therapies and the need for further research, particularly regarding clinician knowledge and use of empirically-supported practices, potential stepped-care approaches to trauma treatment, and the need to reduce attrition in child trauma research and practice.

Joseph Spinazzola, Bessel van der Kolk, Julian Ford, Bradley Stolbach, and Wendy D' Andre are the authors of Understanding Interpersonal Trauma in Children: Why We Need a Developmentally Appropriate Trauma Diagnosis in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry (Volume 82, Number 2). The article summarizes research that suggests directions for broadening current diagnostic conceptualizations for victimized children, focusing on findings regarding victimization, the prevalence of a variety of psychiatric symptoms related to affect and behavior dysregulation, disturbances of consciousness and cognition, alterations in attribution and schema, and interpersonal impairment. A wide range of symptoms is common in victimized children. As a result, in the current psychiatric nosology, multiple comorbid diagnoses are necessary&madsh;but not necessarily accurate&madsh;to describe many victimized children, potentially leading to both undertreatment and overtreatment. Authors also review related findings regarding biological correlates of childhood victimization and the treatment outcome literature, and they provide recommendations for future research aimed at enhancing diagnosis and treatment of victimized children.

Empowering Therapists to Work With LGBTQ Youth and FamiliesPresenters: Al Killen-Harvey, LCSW, Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady Children's Hospital and Health Center; Heidi Stern-Ellis, LCSW, Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady Children's Hospital and Health Center; Betty Hill, MPM, Persad Center; Sandy Soloski, MA, CAC, Persad Center,
This webinar will inform participants about the many levels of cultural competence needed when working with LGBTQ Youth. Presenters will discuss the coming-out process and gender as a continuum rather than as a binary concept and help participants be more prepared to affirm individuals in the coming-out process.